LOS ANGELES, July 27 (UPI) -- Noted Los Angeles County Prosecutor Phil Halpin died on his 65th birthday from cancer.
Halpin was best known for winning convictions against "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez and the cop killer in what became known as the "Onion Field" slaying.
Halpin died Friday in a hospice in Bend, Ore., the Las Angeles Times reported Sunday. He retired in 2001 after over 36 years as Deputy District Attorney.
Halpin was named one of the state's most effective prosecutors by "California Lawyer" magazine in 1985, four years before the highly-publicized Ramirez trial.
Fellow prosecutor Bruce Campbell called Halpin "one of the most brilliant trial lawyers the office has ever known," in a statement released by the prosecutor's office.
He was 29 in 1967 when he handled the retrial in the case that was immortalized by Joseph Wambaugh's book, "The Onion Field."
Halpin was cremated and no services were planned.
